


Of Hues of Blues and a Late Afternoon Cruise

by vronvron



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-12 07:43:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11732616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vronvron/pseuds/vronvron
Summary: It all began that one afternoon. Chanyeol was cruising along in his ute by the water. What he had wanted to do was have a swim in the warm oceans of the summer.But what he got was something much... cuter.





	1. .1.

Not too many people went to the beach even though it was summer. They all went to the mall, cinema, pool - anywhere indoors where it was safe. The beaches surrounding the area were great, just that people didn't seem to like the idea of swimming amongst creatures of the sea.

Chanyeol didn't mind though. He didn't necessarily want to sunbathe or get a tan, but he wanted to have a nice relaxing swim at the beach. And he had the perfect place. It was a bit further away from the more popular beaches, but it was much more peaceful and clean. He liked the drive to and from the beach as well - the cliffs, sand and ocean on one side and the greenery on the other.

With a pair of sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the late afternoon sun as he drove along, he hummed softly to himself as he listened to the radio. He smiled when he finally saw the beach in his sights. "Another day at Magenta~" he sang happily.

Magenta Shore was the name of this beach. During sunset, you'd be able to see the blue sky above slowly fading out and the pinks and oranges taking over. But the beautiful magenta which filled the sky was the breathtaking view that the beach was called after.

After parking his ute safely in his usual spot, he stepped out, placing his sunglasses on the dashboard before he stretched a bit. He was already prepared, his shirt in the passenger seat along with his towel and things. After stretching some more, he began to jog down towards the water and smiled as the warm waters washed over his toes. He continued to walk into the depths until it reached his hips before swimming out a bit.

He wasn't afraid of the water. In fact, he had loved it ever since he was little. He never knew why he was so drawn to the water, just that he loved it, being around it and especially being in it. He continued to tread in the water, shutting his eyes and relaxing.

 

He was pretty sure that he hadn't been relaxing all too long until he suddenly felt movement around his feet. He cracked an eye open and didn't see anyone. He shut his eye before shrugging to himself.

 

He felt a light poke on his leg.

 

Followed by a soft tug.

 

Then a slightly harder tug.

 

And he was pretty sure it was a hand doing all this.

 

Chanyeol slowly opened his eyes and then looked into the water, but he could barely see anything since the sky's reflection was so very bright. He held his breath before dunking his head into the water. Another odd thing was that he was able to open his eyes under water and see clearly. Very clearly.

Right below him, was a cute boy. He blinked a few times before following along his body since this boy didn't seem to be holding his breath. This cute boy was staring right back at him, looking a little shy, but smiling.

That was when Chanyeol saw it.

The tail.

He widened his eyes and screamed in a rather unmanly way under the water before swimming up to the surface. He cleared his throat and then took several gulps of hair, pushing his hair back.

"U-um.. I'm sorry that I scared you..."

Chanyeol turned around abruptly and then blinked several times as he saw the boy there, or at least from his shoulders and above. He could see that the boy's hair was a mixture of the dark magenta of dusk mixed in with the light ocean blue colour of the seas. Instead of ears, he had small fins which matched his hair. Along his neck and collarbones were patches of shiny magenta-blue scales and those same patches were present along his shoulders and arms.

"I-I didn't mean to. I've seen you here so many times before and well, you weren't moving and you seemed like you were asleep so I thought that I could sneak a closer look at you but you were obviously awake since you moved and I didn't know what to do so I just kinda froze- "

"It's fine. Really, it's fine. I just... I've never met one of your kind before," Chanyeol said a lot more calmly. It was rather adorable watching this merboy be rather flustered. Chanyeol smiled to him and nodded. "You're really quite adorable, but uh, shouldn't you get back to your parents or something?" he asked.

The merboy blinked several times before giggling softly. "How old do you think I am?"

"Uh, like, way below 21?"

"Well, I suppose that's understandable~ But I'm nearly 27," he giggled softly.

"What?!" Chanyeol exclaimed, earning a louder burst of laughter from the merman. "How are you the same age as me??"

The merman shrugged and then giggled some more. "I'm Baekhyun by the way. What's your name?" he asked.

"Ah right... I'm Chanyeol. Do you live in this area?"

The merman nodded and grinned, "I live in one of the hidden underwater caves," he answered. Baekhyun looked at the skies and then smiled sadly. "It's nearly time that you go, right?" he asked.

Chanyeol knew he had to talk with the other some more. It seemed like he had been watched by this curious merman for a while. "Yeah... but I'll be back tomorrow, a bit earlier than usual. I... wanna talk with you some more." He looked around and then saw the perfect spot. "You see that spot there? Where those rocks are under that bit of land where the water washes up? Meet me over there tomorrow, a bit earlier than when I usually come. Alright, Baekhyun?"

"Okay!" the merman nodded enthusiastically and grinned. "Get back home safely!" The merman waved as he watched the human swimming back to shore and then dived back into the water to head back home as well.

 

Chanyeol knew what sort of a world he lived in. It was one that did not deny the existence of such... magical and supernatural creatures, but it was not a world which spoke openly about those creatures either. It was really for the safety of those creatures more so than anything else.

He fell back onto his bed after having taken a shower and eaten his dinner, cleaning up after himself. He sighed softly, thinking to himself about what had happened. He didn't think that he'd ever meet one.

After a while of just relaxing and scrolling though social media, Chanyeol fell asleep, a bit more than tired than usual.

 

When Chanyeol was driving down to the beach the next day, he wondered if the merman knew that he was there already. He repeated his usual actions, but instead of going to the water, he went over to the rocks and sat in the shady area away from public view. He sat on one of the larger rocks and then waited, dunking his feet into the clear water.

He leaned back against his hands, shutting his eyes and sighing softly as he waited.

"Chanyeol."

The taller opened his eyes and looked by his feet and saw the merman smiling up at him. He smiled back before lowering himself into the water and sitting himself on the ledge of the rock. The merman sat beside him, continuing to smile brightly. "Hi Baekhyun. How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"Well... I could sense your presence in the water, so I came out as soon as I could," the merman answered. He seemed a little nervous.

"Are you alright?" asked Chanyeol.

"Y-yes! I am fine... It's just... I didn't think you'd actually show up," explained Baekhyun.

Chanyeol could see more of the merman's upper body and found it amazing that the other was so muscularly toned, yet still had pale skin. He continued to look at the other's body before finally seeing the tail properly. He subconsciously reached over and ran a hand over the magenta-blue scales and was surprised by the smoothness but also the very clean feeling. He realised what he was doing and retracted his hand. "S-sorry... it's just... your tail is very beautiful," he smiled.

"It's alright. I don't usually let people touch my tail too much, but I'm okay with you touching it. I can tell that you're trustworthy," smiled Baekhyun.

The merman seemed to radiate some kind of soothing energy as well as something which seemed to make Chanyeol feel rather comfortable. He inched a bit closer to the merman and smiled, "I'm sorry if I seem a bit out of it... It's just so amazing," he said softly and continued to observe the other's features, including the small gills on the other's neck, and larger ones along his sides. He also noticed the small fins and much more evident scales on the merman's wrists and forearms.

Baekhyun giggled softly and shook his head in amusement. "I don't mind." He blushed a bit when the other lifted up his arm by the hand and began tracing the scales and fin. He looked up and watched the human observing him and smiled, feeling a little shy and something else... Warmth, perhaps?


	2. .2.

To say that Chanyeol had lost track of the time was a bit of an understatement. He didn't realise how long he had been talking with- well, more like staring at, Baekhyun. He only realised the time when the lack of natural lighting was becoming a bit more evident.

The merman looked to the sky and then back to the human beside him. "You should head back home Chanyeol. It'll be dark soon," he said.

Chanyeol knew that the other was right. He sighed softly, nodding to the other. "Yeah... I was thinking that maybe... I could have a swim with you tomorrow," he said. He smiled when he saw the merman nodding to him. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around the other, feeling a mixture of warmth and coolness from the other's body. He pulled away, letting the other slip back into the water and watching as Baekhyun began to swim away.

 

"Hey hyung!"

Chanyeol was a bit surprised to see his younger friend, Sehun, in front of his house. "What're you doing here Sehun?" he asked as he locked his ute. He walked up to his door and then went inside once he had unlocked it, the younger following him.

"Well, I was wondering where my hyung disappeared to, you know?" the younger chuckled. He tossed himself onto the couch and watched his friend. "So, what were you doing for the past, I dunno, five hours?" he asked.

Chanyeol looked over at his friend and pursed his lips before sitting beside the younger. "I'll tell you, but promise not to... tell anyone or laugh alright?" he asked.

Sehun leaned forward and nodded hesitantly, "Okay, spill," he said softly.

The taller sighed softly and opened his mouth to speak, "Yesterday, at the beach... I may have been swimming and may have come across a merman who may have known about me going to that beach for a while and I may just have gone and talked to him for however long I was gone for," he answered, smiling rather sheepishly.

Sehun blinked a few times, "You've seriously gone insane hyung. How much of that sea water have you accidentally swallowed?" the younger asked. "Sure, they say that there are magical creatures out there, but do you seriously think that I would believe what you're saying?"

 

"Seriously, you have seriously lost it hyung," Sehun said from the passenger seat. He was still very skeptical about this whole merman story his best friend was going on about - this led to Chanyeol insisting on showing him.

"I have not lost it Sehun and I will prove it to you," he said calmly. He parked in his usual spot before walking out onto the beach with Sehun. "Stay here for a second. I need to ask Baekhyun if it's alright," he said.

"You even came up with a name for him?" the younger asked. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he wondered why he even agreed to come out here in the first place. He watched his friend go around behind the rocks and began waiting.

 

Chanyeol stepped into the water and waited for Baekhyun to show up. "Chanyeol," the merman smiled as he swam up. The smaller furrowed his brows and bit and tilted his head, "Is there someone else here?" he asked.

"Yeah... he's one of my closest friends and well... I told him why I kinda went missing for a bit yesterday and he doesn't believe me so I thought that I might as well bring him here, but I wanted to ask y- "

Baekhyun reached up and placed a finger on the human's lips. "I understand. It's fine. Bring him around," he smiled. He let the human go off to get his friend and as he did so, Baekhyun sat on that same ledge as yesterday and waited a few moments before hearing the two coming over. The bickering made him giggle softly.

"-yeol-hyung, seriously. I swear you're just seeing- " Sehun stopped in his tracks when he saw the figure sitting on the ledge, "- things."

The merman giggled when he saw the reaction on this newcomer's face before looking up and turning to look over at Chanyeol.

"Sehun, this is Baekhyun. Baekhyun, this is Sehun," Chanyeol said with a wide grin as he tugged his friend over to where the merman was sitting. Chanyeol sat on the ledge once more, the water coming up to his waist. "I told you Sehun."

The younger was speechless as he sat on the dryer surface of the rock and blinked a few times.

Noticing how shocked the other was, Baekhyun giggled, "Nice to meet you Sehun."

"Sehun, just relax and take your time letting this all sink in~ Baekhyun and I are gonna go for a little swim alright? We can talk more when we get back."

 

So, the two of them really did get into the water and went for a swim, playing in the water together and messing about. Along with his amazing ability to keep his eyes open underwater, Chanyeol had an amazing lung capacity.

"I used to do a bit of free diving a few years back," Chanyeol explained when the merman asked him. They were quite a distance away from the rocks, the water being quite deep around them, but the taller didn't mind since he'd never been afraid of the water, and he had Baekhyun by his side.

 

Sehun watched his friend and that petite merman playing about in the water, their heads resurfacing a bit further away each time. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

 

Chanyeol and Baekhyun were chatting to each other as they simply floated about together when there was another figure which seemed to join them. "Hyung, whose this?"

Chanyeol startled a bit and then eyed the figure, who was also a merman, judging by the small fins where the ears would normally be along with the abnormal orange-pink hair.

"Oh, hi Kai~ This is Chanyeol," the merman answered and then went over to the human, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol from behind. "That's Kai, my friend," he said to the human.

"Alright, be careful hyung," the more tanned merman said before he began swimming off to where the rocks were.

"Is he normally so... cold?" asked Chanyeol.

The merman shrugged and then giggled, "Only when you first meet him really."

 

Sehun was getting bored and had resorted to lying on his back on the flat rock. He sighed softly, shutting his eyes before he suddenly felt a splash of water hit his arm. He groaned in annoyance and then whined, "Go away hyung," he said, thinking it was Chanyeol. He felt another splash. "Stop it hyung," he grunted. When he felt the third splash, he sat up ready to shout but there was no one there.

The blonde stood up and then walked along the edge of the rock to see where is friend was but he couldn't see anything. He missed his footing suddenly and fell straight into the water. He hadn't held his breath in time and was sure that he'd drown since he wasn't the best swimmer. But before he could even swallow any water, something - more like someone - pushed him back up to the surface. Sehun grabbed onto the rock and coughed up some water, catching his breath.

"Oh my god," he panted.

"I'm not that friend of yours by the way."

Sehun turned around with widened eyes when he saw the one who had spoken. He pressed his back against the wall, "There's more of you?" he asked to himself.

"Of course there's more of us. There can't just be one of us," the merman scoffed. "I'm Kai by the way."

"Sehun," came the short response.

"You're lucky you didn't hit your head," the merman chuckled.

"Well, no thanks to someone. I could have drowned," he exclaimed. He groaned when he only received a laugh in response.

"You can't swim?"

"I can... just... don't have a very close and cuddly relationship with the water like Chanyeol-hyung," he grumbled.

"I could see that, considering how much you seem to like that rock you're holding onto," chuckled Kai. The merman looked out to where he could sense his friend and the other human and hummed, "Your friend is pretty interesting... but not as interesting as you, I must admit," he said. Kai looked over to the blonde human and then grinned.

Sehun didn't know why, but he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of that smile.

 

"Channie~ come back here!" exclaimed Baekhyun.

The two of them were messing about as they slowly headed back over to the rocks and Chanyeol was swimming from the merman. "I know you're faster than that Baek! Come and catch me!" he exclaimed.

And indeed, the merman caught up to Chanyeol very quickly and wrapped his arms around the other from behind. "Gotcha!" he giggled.

Chanyeol turned around, laughing softly and then realised just how close they were. He blinked a few times before smiling sheepishly, blushing a bit. There was a moment of silence as the merman continued to hold onto Chanyeol, both of their cheeks a light shade of pink. He suddenly heard a slightly annoyed sounding Sehun call out to him and then called back, "I'm coming!" He turned back to the merman who was holding onto him and smiled, "W-well... I guess I should go now."

"Uh, yeah... I'll see you soon right, Channie?" the merman asked.

"Of course. I'll be back before you know it!" the human grinned before hugging the merman and then swimming back the rest of the way to the rocks. He waved to Baekhyun once he was out and then went with a rather flustered looking Sehun.

 

"Don't tell me that you're seriously considering him- "

"Oh speak for yourself Kai," the smaller merman interjected. He stuck out his tongue at the other before swimming off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support so far~ ^^ Hope to read and reply to more of your comments~


	3. .3.

Chanyeol couldn't go back to Magenta Shore for a couple of days since he had to work the late afternoon shifts in the place of a coworker. It was only the worst thing possible since he was dying to go back and see Baekhyun again.

It was a Friday evening when Chanyeol finished work. He looked out at the skies and then smiled to himself as he grabbed a sandwich before getting into his ute. He ate as he drove and when he got to the beach, he changed out of his normal clothes and into a pair of spare board shorts he always kept in his ute.

He walked out and then headed out to where the rocks were, being careful of where he was going before stepping down and onto the ledge. He waited less than a minute before he felt familiar arms around around him.

"Chanyeol, what're you doing out here so late?" asked Baekhyun, an obvious glint of excitement in his eyes as he pulled away a bit.

"Well... I missed you and the waters too much to just go home for the weekend," he smiled. He continued to hold the merman in his arms, pulling him up onto his lap. "Did you miss me too?" he asked curiously.

The merman nodded quickly and smiled, "I missed you a lot... I didn't know when you'd come so when I sensed you just now, I was surprised but really happy," he smiled.

Chanyeol felt pretty happy to know that the other had missed him as well. He held the other close to him and subconsciously ran his hands along the other's hips where his skin and scales met. "Am I the only human you actually talk to and stuff?" he asked.

The shy nod from the merman made Chanyeol feel proud of himself. "I... I don't usually talk to or interact with other humans, but you're a bit different. Especially since you were able to find this beach. You're the first one who has visited this beach in many years," the merman explained. "Any others would come here once and then just never come back."

The human nodded before humming softly. "I see... Well, I don't plan on stopping my visits any time soon." He smiled to the merman and looked down at the other's tail which continued to shine even with the lack of light. "Especially since... I have more of a reason to come back here," he smiled. He couldn't help but lean in and lightly peck the other's cheek. Chanyeol blushed a bit from his own actions and then smiled sheepishly.

"W-what was that f-for?" asked Baekhyun, a little taken aback, but also very happy that the other had done such a thing.

"I-I dunno... but... I just felt the need to do it..." he said softly. Ever since he had first visited and found this beach about a year ago, Chanyeol hadn't been able to go for more than a week without visiting it. He didn't know why. But he was being drawn to the place and now, with the addition of Baekhyun, he couldn't seem to help himself.

The merman nodded shyly before sensing someone else. He looked behind the human only to see Sehun there. "Oh, hello there," he smiled. The merman noticed soomething odd about the human as he sat behind Chanyeol.

"Sehun? What're you doing here?" asked Chanyeol.

The younger looked up and blinked a few times. "I... I don't know... I just... came here," he said. The younger furrowed his brows as he sat there and then seemed to be in his own world of thought.

"Do you feel... drawn here?" asked Baekhyun. He had an odd suspicion that he knew the reson why Sehun came back.

Sehun looked over to his friend and Baekhyun and furrowed his brows. "I guess... but, I don't know why," he answered.

"Baekhyun-hyung! What are you doing??" exclaimed Kai.

They all looked up and saw the other merman out a bit further away from the rocks.

"It's getting late!"

At those words, Chanyeol's hold on the merman tightened, "Does it get dangerous out there at night?"

Baekhyun turned to the human and then shook his head, "No, Kai is just... afraid that I'll wander too far and well, get lost in the dark," he giggled. "I did that once and he found me in the morning, sleeping somewhere outside of this beach's area."

Chanyeol smiled and then was about to say something but then he heard a splash. He turned to where Kai had been and then saw a hand thrashing about. On instinct, he let go of Baekhyun and swam out to the other. He got there as fast as he could and dove under the surface to see that Kai was being stung by a jellyfish. He swam over to it and grabbed it by the head, unwrapping it from the merman's tail. He winced slightly when one of the tentacles wrapped around his forearm, but quickly disposed of it. It turned out to be a dead one which had been floating about. They both resurfaced and Chanyeol took a deep breath. "You alright Kai?" he asked.

The merman stared at the human for a moment before nodding. "Thanks. I appreciate it," he said with a genuine smile.

"Chanyeol! Are you okay?! Why did you do that?" asked Baekhyun as he reached the two. The smaller merman saw the rings of reddening welts on the human's forearm and gasped.

Chanyeol merely chuckled and smiled to the merman. "I'm fine. It's just a sting. I'll treat it once I get back home. It isn't the first time that I got a sting after all," he smiled.

"But still!" the smaller whined and pouted a bit.

"You two should get going though. I plan on staying out here all day tomorrow, so I'll see you then," Chanyeol smiled and lightly pecked the merman's head. He turned to Kai and nodded to him before swimming back to the rocks where Sehun was waiting patiently.

 

As the two left, Kai saw Sehun's gaze linger on him for a moment longer before walking back to their cars.

"Kai... do you perhaps- "

"Don't ask. I'm... I'm still thinking things through," he said before sinking back down into the water and leading the way back so they could return to their homes for the night.

 

The next morning, just after he had gotten ready and had had breakfast, Chanyeol was surprised when he saw Sehun at his door. "Sehun, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"C-can... Can I come with you today?" the younger asked. He had his things ready with him as if he had gotten ready as early or even earlier than Chanyeol.

"Sure, I don't see why not," the older responded and then grabbed his things before heading out with the younger to his ute.

 

Sehun was quiet for the whole drive there, but Chanyeol didn't mind since they had turned the radio on. The older thought that the other was behaving a bit strangely, but he didn't question it because he thought that he had an idea about why his best friend was behaving like this.

And it all had to do with one tanned, orange-pink haired merman by the name of Kai.

"Hyung? Do you feel drawn to Magenta Shore because of the beach... or is there something else?" the younger asked suddenly.

"Me?" he asked before humming in thought, "Well, initially I think it was the beach and waters itself since it's pretty warm out there, but now.. I honestly believe that Baekhyun is the reason why I want and almost... need to go out there more often than I already do," he answered. He glanced over to Sehun and then cleared his throat a bit. "Why do you ask though? Something bothering you?"

The younger seemed to be quite deep in thought, but Chanyeol didn't push the other to answer him immediately. "Why do you think you feel drawn to him? Do you think he cast some sort of weird spell on you?" Sehun asked.

"Spell?" the older scoffed. "Well, perhaps. I don't mind though. Baekhyun is beautiful, the beach is beautiful, the waters are beautiful," he chuckled, "I wouldn't mind if he had cast a spell on me really."

Sehun finally smiled a bit and looked over at the older, "You sound like you're falling in love, hyung."

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes a bit and shook his head, "I wouldn't say falling as such..."

"Would you say that you're swimming in love then hyung?" the younger scoffed and then chuckled.

The older of the two chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement as they finally reached the beach and parked the ute. He glanced out at the beach before looking back at Sehun, "Maybe. Swimming in love is probably more accurate for me, eh?" he chuckled.

They both got out and took out their bags with their food and towels, taking them over to the rocks and once they got there, they placed their bags on a dry spot before Chanyeol did the usual thing of sitting on the ledge in the water. And this time, Sehun sat beside him, leaving some room of course since he knew Baekhyun would come up to the older.


	4. .4.

Chanyeol had put on an ointment on the welts on his arm last night and had wrapped it well with bandages overnight. He knew that Baekhyun would notice it, but he didn't mind. He smiled when he saw the merman's familiar head of hair appear in the water in front of him and immediately opened his arms. He chuckled when the other seemed a bit sleepy. "Did I come too early?" he asked softly.

The merman shook his head and smiled, "No, I was taking a short nap and well, then you came," he smiled. He snuggled closely to the human and then gently held up his bandaged arm. "You promise me that you treated it?" Baekhyun asked, looking up into the human's eyes.

Chanyeol looked back into those beautiful blue eyes that were swirling with concern. "Yes, I promise that I did," he smiled.

Baekhyun seemed a bit more relaxed after hearing that and then continued to hug the human before he suddenly saw Sehun pushing himself off the ledge and out to swim. "Where is he going?" he asked softly.

"I... don't know," answered Chanyeol. He was very confused to see that the younger was swimming out on his own but then he saw Kai pop his head out. "Well, maybe Kai has something to do with it?" he chuckled. He felt the merman in his arms stiffen a bit and then looked at him. "Are you alright Baekhyun?" he asked.

"H-huh?? Oh yeah, I'm fine, I'm totally fine. I mean yes, I'm alright- "

"Baekhyun," the human spoke softly but sternly. He saw the merman calm down before watching as he seemed to slump. "I think you definitely know why Sehun just swam out to Kai. And I think you know exactly why I can't seem to stop myself from coming out to this beach." He looked at the other and then waited for an answer.

The merman bit down on his lip lightly before looking at the other, "Well, when a mermaid or merman becomes fond of someone... or more like... they feel like they can give their heart to that someone... We subconsciously put them under a spell which makes them want to return to the place where we reside in. For Kai and myself, it happens to be this beach here," he explained. He played with his fingers which had natural webbing between them, but not a lot. "D-do you hate me now?" he asked, tearing up a bit.

Chanyeol took all of the information in and then saw the other's expression. He never wanted to see Baekhyun cry. He lifted the other's head up to face him and smiled, "No, I don't hate you... but, how long have you known about me? I've been coming to this beach for a while now..." He chuckled when the other blushed profusely and seemed to fiddle with his fingers again. "I'm guessing a while?" he asked and earned a nod in response. He pulled the other close to him and then nuzzled his hair. "You could have told me sooner though," he chuckled and then looked down and saw the merman pouting.

Baekhyun turned around a bit and then hugged the other, "Thank you so much Chanyeol," he said and then pulled away.

"Wanna go for a swim with me?" the human smiled.

"Of course!" the smaller exclaimed and then hopped back into the water. He moved back enough to give the other space to get into the water and swm out a bit, knowing the human was following him. He dove down under the surface, waiting for the other to come follow him. Baekhyun was more than happy when the other followed suit, swimming down to the depth he was at and meeting him down there. "Hold my hand," he said and took the other's hand in his.

Chanyeol smiled to the other and then let the other lead him, letting the other take him further away from the rocks. He had a feeling that the merman was doing something to make it easier for him to hold his breath since he felt less pressure. He saw a slightly out of place cave entrance and realised that they were headed there. 

Baekhyun turned around at this moment and smiled. "This is where I live," he explained and then pulled the human into the cave and swam to the surface of the water. "I thought I might as well show you," he added and smiled.

The taller looked around after pushing his hair back and stared in awe as he saw the giant air pocket of a cave which was made of blue and green stone and crystals. "It's amazing," he muttered. He noticed that there was an area that was flat and big enough for him to walk onto and tilted his head, "Why is there a platform?" he asked. He began to swim over to it and pushed himself up to sit on it.

"I have times when I like to see what having legs feels like so I dry myself up there and see what it's like," the merman explained and then sat up as well. "And now it's useful for you as well," he smiled. He gasped when Chanyeol suddenly lifted him up onto his lap and reflexively wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders. "Ch-Chanyeol?" he questioned softly.

"Can... Can I kiss you?" Chanyeol asked, looking at the merman's face. When he received no response, he furrowed his brows. "Do... Do you not want it?" he asked.

"I do! I do want to kiss you... a lot... But..." He bit down on his bottom lip slightly. "I-if you kiss me... then you can't turn back. You'll be bound to me forever," he explained.

The taller could see that the other was quite anxious and so he lifted the other's head up by the chin and then smiled reassuringly to him, "I'd like to be bound to you anyway," he said softly. He looked into the other's bright purple-blue eyes as he slowly leaned in and pressed their lips together. The taller pulled the other closer as he suddenly felt something running through his body and gripped onto the other a bit as he felt his body being filled up with something. He panted as he pulled away from the other and then lost both his balance and grip, his vision spinning before he suddenly fell forwards into the water along with the smaller.

"Chanyeol??" Baekhyun asked frantically. He followed the other's body as it sunk a bit deeper into the water and made sure the other wasn't hurt. "Chanyeol? Wake up," he said. Baekhyun widened his eyes as he suddenly saw the other's body glowing for a few moments.

The taller opened his eyes after a few moments and then swam back up to the surface. He breathed heavily before he turned to the smaller when he felt a pair of arms around his shoulders. "I'm... okay," he panted.

"I got so worried for a second..." Baekhyun muttered and hugged the other closely from behind. He gasped when the taller turned to face him and felt those long warm arms embracing him.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on leaving you," he smiled and then held onto the other. "I do feel... something different though... Probably side effects or something," he said.

"If you feel anything strange once you head back home, just come back here to the beach and let me know," the smaller said. "You should probably head back and eat something, same with Sehun," he said. He pulled away and held the taller's hand. "And you should go and rest up, even though you wanted to stay out here all day... I think you should go home and rest," he said and began to pull the other back into the water.

 

When they got back to the rocks, they saw that both Kai and Sehun were in the same ledge of rock, talking to each other - and at a rather close proximity. They made it over and then laughed softly when both Kai and Sehun moved away like a wall appeared between them.

"You don't need to hide your affection from us, y'know?" commented Baekhyun.

Kai merely rolled his eyes as he got back into the water and then cleared his throat. "We were just talking about you two and how you were taking forever," he said. The slightly more tanned merman stole another glance at Sehun before sighing softly. "Anyway, I'll be heading home first, hyung. If you're not home soon, I'll be looking for you," he warned before diving into the water and swimming off.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol parted ways as well once they said their farewells before both Sehun and Chanyeol headed back, grabbing their things and heading up to the ute to eat in there before heading home.

And indeed, both Sehun and Chanyeol got home and rested, the latter sleeping for a bit longer than normal.


	5. .5.

Sehun was a bit more than just worried when Chanyeol had texted him to let his work know that he was too sick to come into work that day. Sehun knew Chanyeol. And he new that Chanyeol was never just too sick for work. So, after doing as his friend had asked him, he went to visit Chanyeol. He called his friend on his way there, wanting to let him know that he was coming.

"Hey, this is Chanyeol. Sorry I can't answer right now, but please- "

Okay, there was definitely something wrong.

 

Sehun ran over to his friend's place and knocked on the door, waited, then rang the doorbell, and waited some more. He sighed and opened the door using his spare key and looked around. He was shocked to see Chanyeol lying there on the living room floor, unconscious.

"Hyung, wake up," he said.

Thankfully the older stirred a bit, looking quite disorientated. "Hun?" he mumbled.

"Yes, it's me," the younger answered, relief obvious. He reached out and checked the older's forehead and flinched from the heat.

"Ma... genta..." the older groaned. "Now.."

Sehun furrowed his brows, trying to understand why the older wanted to go there. But of course, he nodded and carefully lifted the older up, supporting him with an arm. "Alright hyung. But I'm driving your ute," he said.

 

Once they got to the beach, Sehun had managed to walk the rather feverish Chanyeol over to the usual spot where they would meet Baekhyun and Kai. Strangely enough, Baekhyun was already there, waiting, and looking quite anxious.

The merman looked up and saw the two approaching, "Chanyeol!" Baekhyun gasped.

Sehun gently lowered the older onto the ledge beside the rather frantic merman. "He seems to have a fever... and he insisted on coming out here," the youngest explained.

"Thank you so much, Sehun," smiled Baekhyun.

"No problem."

 

Sehun had gone off to sit on the beach for a while.

Baekhyun was grateful since the younger seemed to understand that they needed some time. Baekhyun was trying to get Chanyeol to gain a bit more consciousness. "Chanyeol. It's me, Baekhyun," he said softly.

The taller opened his eyes a bit more and looked at the merman in front of him. He smiled and wrapped his arms around the merman's smaller body. "Baekhyun," he hummed. He was a bit wobbly and was very close to slipping off the ledge they were on.

The smaller tried to keep them up on the ledge, but since Chanyeol was bigger than him, he couldn't quite move them back up. So, he got pulled into the water by the taller's weight and they floated around the ledge. "Are you alright, Chanyeol?" he asked softly as he kept his arms around the taller.

"Mhmm... now that I'm here... with you.." he answered.

Baekhyun gasped as the other's body went limp and was beginning to sink. "I think I need to take you back to my home, alright? I'll let Sehun know," he said.

 

Chanyeol was quite delirious even once he was taken to the merman's home. He refused to get out of the water and didn't want to let go of Baekhyun.

The merman decided that it would be okay to take the other down into the water for now, so he let them sink down to the bottom of his cave and rest there. "I'm so sorry you're going through this.." the smaller whispered. He knew the other was sleeping since he was limp and had his eyes shut. Baekhyun stayed there with Chanyeol and made sure that he still had a pulse. That's when Baekhyun noticed something odd about the other's legs.

They were an unusual shade of red.

That's when it hit him.

"He's changing... already?" he asked himself and then looked up at the other. He wondered just how much the other wanted to be with him that he was already beginning to change. Baekhyun began to panic slightly, worried about what would happen to everything that Chanyeol had up on land. A hand grabbed him and he looked at it, seeing that it was Chanyeol.

Chanyeol smiled to the smaller, although he had slightly bloodshot eyes and looked worn out. He used his other hand and pointed upwards.

"R-right," Baekhyun said and pulled the other back up to the surface of the water.

Chanyeol pulled himself up to at least lean on the rock and took several breaths. "What's... happening to me?" he asked.

Baekhyun rushed forward, wrapping his arms around the other's broad shoulders. "I don't know how it could be happening so quickly... but..."

"But..?"

"You're changing... into my kind," the merman whispered. He looked up at the other with slightly worried eyes. "Do you really want to be with me that badly?" he asked.

It took several moments for Chanyeol to process what was going on before nodding rather calmly. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

"But what about everything you have up on land?" Baekhyun asked.

"I'll sort it all out eventually... I want to spend as much time as I can in the waters with you," he smiled. "You said you could get legs, right?" he asked.

"Y-yeah, but what has that got to do with anything?"

"Do you know how to walk on them?" When he received a nod, Chanyeol grinned, "Then how about you come up with me and explore a bit of the land as I sort everything out before we come back to the waters permanently?" he suggested.

 

"So how exactly did inviting Baekhyun end up having Kai come as well?" Sehun asked from the driver's seat.

"I'll get too lonely and even though I trust Chanyeol, I've been on land before unlike Baekhyun-hyung," Kai explained from the passenger seat beside Sehun.

In the backseats, Chanyeol was sitting there, still recovering a bit, but enjoying his time as he watched Baekhyun - who was now dry with legs and wearing a pair of his shorts - look out the window in utter amazement. "You've really never been up here, have you Baekhyun?" he asked.

"Nope! It's really amazing!" he grinned.

It was really quite adorable to see how tall Baekhyun was in his human form. He was nearly a head shorter than Chanyeol and it made the merman seem extra adorable. "Will you really be alright being out of the water for a couple of days?" asked Chanyeol.

"Yeah, I'll be fine~ It's only my first time out of the beach area, but I have been out of water before," he reassured. The smaller continued to look out the window and soon felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his waist. "Did you wanna sleep the rest of the way, Channie?" he asked softly. He received a low hum in response and soon he heard the steady breathing behind him.

 

When they arrived back at Chanyeol's house, they all headed inside, Sehun and Kai having to help Chanyeol get inside since his legs were quite weak at the moment. Once they were inside, they settled down and worked out how they were going to do things since it seemed like Chanyeol was going to have to get rid of many things.

"I think I'll transfer most of my things to one of those non-human banks and whatnot. And as for my ute, Sehun can have that," Chanyeol declared. He nodded to himself and they all spent the next several hours deciding on how everything would be done before they ate some stuff and turned in for the night. Sehun and Kai went off to Sehun's place, leaving Baekhyun and Chanyeol alone for the night.

They headed straight to bed since Chanyeol was quite tired. "How are your legs feelings, Channie?" he asked. He laid down beside the taller and snuggled up within his arms.

"They're okay. They feel a bit numb at the joints, but I guess that's normal," he smiled. He held onto the smaller and didn't show any signs of letting go. "I guess it's really happening then," he smiled, nuzzling the other's hair. "We're gonna be together forever, Baek," he whispered as he shut his eyes.

"Mhmm, forever and ever Channie," he smiled and snuggled closely to the other before also falling asleep.

Back at Sehun's place, after having a few awkward arguments about where to sleep, Sehun let Jongin sleep on his bed and he took the couch. Both of them feeling awkward still since they hadn't been stuck together, alone like that.


	6. .6.

The next few days were like torture for Chanyeol. The things he had to do were easy, transferring money, signing contracts, etc. Those tasks were easy. What the torturous part was, was that he could barely use his legs anymore. They were weak to the point of not being able to stand up even when he leaned up against a wall.

However, once he had done everything necessary, he got Sehun to drive them all back to Magenta Shore. As they got closer and closer to the beach, Chanyeol felt better but also began to get a lot more restless. After helping Chanyeol back over to the rocks and down onto the usual ledge, Sehun and Kai bid their farewells. Kai planned on staying on land a bit longer to help Sehun sort out some things left by Chanyeol - although, it was obvious that Kai planned on staying on land for a completely different reason.

A couple of days prior, with the help of a close wizard friend of Kai, they had been able to teleport a few boxes of Chanyeol's belongings inside the underwater cave, safely onto the dry area inside. So, that wasn't anything they had to worry about.

Once the coast was clear, Baekhyun stripped himself of the board shorts he had been wearing and handed them to the taller who was sitting beside him on the ledge. Baekhyun lowered himself back into the water completely and he transformed back to his natural merman self. He moved back slightly and gave the other space to slide into the water as well. Once Chanyeol was in the water, Baekhyun wrapped his arms around him, pecking him on the cheek. "You'll be alright," he smiled. He nodded and then held the other's hand, before diving into the water and pulling the other along.

 

When they got to the underwater cave, Chanyeol smiled when he saw his stuff there. He nodded and placed the board shorts from Baekhyun onto the edge of the platform.

"Now... um... you need to take off your shorts... and yeah..." blushed Baekhyun. He let the other get his shorts off and place them alongside the other pair on the edge. "Now... don't worry about breathing or anything like that, everything will happen naturally."

Chanyeol could see just how nervous the other was and moved forward, hugging the smaller tightly. "Don't worry Baekhyun. I'll be fine," he whispered softly. He smiled and let the smaller hold onto him tightly.

They then proceeded to swim down to the bottom of the cave and Baekhyun let the other lay there. He sat right by Chanyeol as the taller soon fell asleep. He stayed there, holding onto the taller's hand. Soon, he fell asleep as well, lying against the other's chest.

 

Back up on land, Sehun and Kai had gotten over the awkwardness of being alone together and used this time to instead do what they wee afraid to do in front of others - talk to one another comfortably. It didn't help that Sehun was the one who wanted to talk with Kai all the time, but Kai turned away every time he tried to approach the merman. He had tried multiple times and now that they didn't have anyone else to worry about anymore, the merman seemed to relax and actually enjoy himself.

Sehun was very grateful for that, and even though Kai didn't admit it, he was glad that they were getting somewhere as well.

 

Baekhyun felt a pulsating sensation beneath him and woke up to see that there was a constant flash of light pulsating throughout Chanyeol's body. He looked along the other's body and during the time that Baekhyun had been napping, Chanyeol had grown fins along his forearms and his feet had elongated into fins, the scales slowly making their way up along his legs. He gasped as he continued to watch the change happen before his very eyes.

Gills made themselves visible along either side of his neck and on both sides of his body. The scales continued to move up his legs, right up until his hips where they then faded out. There was yet to be a clear colour but it looked close to turning red. He looked up at the other's torso and noticed some scales along the taller's shoulders and collarbones as well as some on his arms as well.

The merman knew that the tails of merpeople were always unique to the individual, but he had never seen such a beautiful fluke before in his entire life. Although dolphin tails were made of two smaller flukes, merpeople had one very large fluke at the end of their tail. Chanyeol's one was quite magnificent and almost resembled that of a royal.

Baekhyun had been so immersed in admiring the other's new tail that he almost didn't notice how the tail was finally gaining a proper colour. The tail finally settled down into a deep red with golden highlights and when he looked up to Chanyeol's head, his hair also changed to a mixture of red and golden blonde, along with his ears that were now small fins as well that matched his tail. The pulsating slowed down and Chanyeol's whole body glowed for a few moments before he opened his eyes, his eyes now an orange-ish colour.

Baekhyun swam up to the other and held the other's face between his smaller hands. "Ch-Chanyeol?" he asked softly.

Chanyeol blinked several times and rolled his shoulders back a bit before looking at Baekhyun, smiling, "Hey Baek."

The smaller immediately wrapped his arms around Chanyeol and held onto him tightly. "Oh my god... I was so... scared. What if you didn't make it?" he whispered.

"I wouldn't allow myself to leave you alone Baek," he smiled. Chanyeol sat up and then looked at his tail as he moved it about. He then wrapped his arms around the smaller and smiled when he saw the fins on his arms. He pushed himself up with the force of his tail and was surprised when he found so much strength within it. When he looked at the smaller in his arms, he could tell that he was surprised as well. He swam up to the surface of the water and then blinked a few times.

"Your tail... it's so strong," smiled Baekhyun, blushing slightly. He was still holding onto the taller and didn't even realise that he wasn't even moving. Chanyeol was doing all of the work.

Chanyeol nodded and then smiled to the other. "We can be together forever, Baek," he smiled. He held the smaller within his arms and then sighed in content. "Now, please tell me your real age. I know for a fact that merpeople are immortal and you couldn't be my age," he chuckled softly.

The smaller blushed profusely at that and wondered why the other hadn't mentioned it sooner. "W-well... in human years.... I'm old enough to probably be... your great-grandfather?" he smiled sheepishly. He scratched his head and then chuckled nervously.

"So you're closer to 127 years old, aren't you?" chuckled Chanyeol. He leaned in and pecked the other's lips. He held the other's hand before he pulled him along underneath the surface, "Let's go and see what I can do with this tail," he grinned cheekily.

They spent the next couple of hours just swimming and having fun with each other like they never did before.

 

Chanyeol was getting a bit tired though. He was only just getting used to the feeling of having a tail rather than a pair of legs. He swam up to Baekhyun and held the older close to him. He smiled and leaned in, kissing the smaller as they let their bodies twist with each other. He pulled away, resting their foreheads together. "I love you, Baekhyun."

The smaller merman blushed profusely and nodded, smiling shyly, "I love you too Chanyeol."

The two headed back and soon found themselves at the bottom of the cave, sleeping in each other's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my story! <3 Please continue to follow me and my stories~ It would be very much appreciated~ ^^


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